Diamond In The Rough
by Dancing-Rose
Summary: (Post-PotC) Ragetti & Pintel have escaped from the Dauntless. And it seems there is more than Naval officers on their horizon... Love, for example...This is Really funny!
1. Are We There Yet?

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Disney owns all the characters (except Diamond- Marie and Julie Hopkins) and the places where this story is held. If only Ragetti was mine! sniff  
  
Diamond in the Rough  
  
"Are we there yet?" Whined a tall and lanky pirate, his arms tired from rowing the small boat he was sitting in.  
  
"For the hundredth time, no!" Replied his rowing-mate, a short and slightly plump pirate, who was growing tired of answering this question every fifteen minutes.  
  
"I though' you said Tortuga was the closest island to Por' Royal?"  
  
"It is! You jus' aren't rowin' fast enough!" Growled the short, stocky pirate. He didn't want to admit that he was only guessing Tortuga was the closest island to Port Royal.  
  
The taller, lankier pirate immediately stretched out his long, skinny arms to collect his oars and to start rowing again.  
  
After about ten minutes, the leaner pirate could not hold his tongue any longer.  
  
"Pints, wha' are we gunna do once we get there?"  
  
"Hide ya idiot! The whole of the Por' Royal Navy will be lookin' for us!"  
  
"But they think we're los' at sea, don' they?" Inquired the lanky blond.  
  
"They know one o' the lifeboats are missin', and they know where missin', so they know that we...." the portly man trailed off, waiting for his partner to finish the sentence.  
  
"So they know tha' we .....are lost at sea?"  
  
The well-rounded pirate gave the skinnier one a sharp slap around the ear.  
  
"They know we stole the boa', you imbecile! Now jus' keep rowin', would ya?!"  
  
"Yes Pints." The other pirate muttered dejectedly.  
  
As darkness fell, the two scally-wags rowed the boat over to a small, jagged rock, and tied their boat up there for the cold, damp night now surrounded them.  
  
"Pints?"  
  
"Yes Rags? Wha' is it now?"  
  
"Jus' wan'ed to say goodnigh', tha's all."  
  
"Well, goodnight then. Now go ta sleep!" The stockier pirate could not help but give a little grin to himself. He admired his friends' childish yet positive outlook on things.  
  
"Rags! Rags! Ragetti! Wake up!"  
  
"...not today mum. I'll clean me room tomorra..." muttered the skinner pirate, who was talking in his sleep.  
  
The other pirate who went by 'Pints', (more commonly known as Pintel), gave Ragetti a hard kick in the shins.  
  
"Owwwwww! Wha' you do tha' for!?" Screamed Ragetti, now rubbing his leg profusely.  
  
"It's mornin'! We gotta' stay on the move! What if the 'Dauntless' finds us?! Now come on, we don' have tha' far to row." Pintel grabbed the oars and started rowing, ignoring the small bruises now appearing on his friends shins.  
  
When the sun reached its peak in the turquoise-blue sky, Pintel's stomach rumbled loudly.  
  
When Ragetti heard his mates stomach groan, he reached inside his torn jacket and pulled out a small, grubby looking hip-flask. Forgetting his own thirst and hunger, he handed it to Pintel, who snatched the small leather type bottle from Ragetti's fingers.  
  
A quarter of the way through the flask, Pintel glimpsed at Ragetti, who was licking his dry, salty lips, awaiting his turn for a drink.  
  
"Here. You have the rest. I'm not that thirsty anyways." Pintel handed the hip-flask back to Ragetti, who took it gratefully, letting the contents flow down his parched throat.  
  
Ragetti tied the top on, keeping some for later, or even tomorrow, as they had not yet seen any land all day.  
  
As the sun sank into the horizon, the two misfits sat there. Ragetti, who was now growing bored, began to rub his wooden eye.  
  
"Don't scratch it! You'll only make it worse for yourself." Pintel said, pulling Ragetti's hand away from his fake eye.  
  
"But it itches!" Ragetti complained, now pulling the overly-large eye out of its socket, revealing a deep, black hole where there should've been another of his deep, sea-blue eyes. Pintel rolled his eyes and kept on rowing. Ragetti could be such a child at times.  
  
Whilst fiddling with his wooden eye, Ragetti looked up and jumped in surprise, nearly turning the boat over in the process.  
  
"Watch it! You almost topped us over!" Pintel yelled in an angry voice.  
  
"But...but, there's l-l-land!" Ragetti squealed with delight, pointing over Pintel's shoulder.  
  
When he turned to face the direction of Ragetti's finger, Pintel saw an amazing sight.  
  
There, in front of them, was a small bay surrounded by rocky cliffs and mountains. But what excited them was not the bay, but what laid beyond it. The pair could see about three dozen lights coming from the shore. They could hear the singing of men, the sound of guns firing and, the best bit of all, the smell of rum!  
  
"Tortuga!" The pair shouted in unison.  
  



	2. The Cutlass Inn

**Disclaimer:** Disney owns all the characters (except Diamond-Marie and Julie Hopkins). I WISH Ragetti was mine!!!! sob  
  
**Diamond in the rough---.:Chapter 2:.  
**  
Ragetti and Pintel parked their miserable excuse for a boat on a side beach, near the far end of the town. Seeing as the 'Dauntless' could still be after them, they decided it wise to lay low and stay out of the way. But hunger drove them to go into the centre of Tortuga, as that was where all the bars and inns were.  
  
"I neva' been ta Tortuga before." Ragetti said as he stared in awe at all the bright lights of the bars and inns.  
  
"Yea. Tortuga is the place for men who wan' nothin' but pleasure." Pintel whispered as looked in the direction of a man being kissed by 3 women with overly large busts.  
  
As the pair continued to walk through the crowds of misfits and scally- wags, Ragetti noticed a small inn, which looked very busy but at the same time, very welcoming.  
  
"How 'bout tha' place? It looks nice." Ragetti gestured towards the inn he had been staring at.  
  
Pintel let out a laugh as he saw the place his friend had been pointing at. "Wha'? The Cutlass inn? I Haven' set foot in tha' place since I was a youngin'."  
  
Pintel and Ragetti walked over to 'The Cutlass Inn', and entered the large vicinity. There was only one word to describe the inn they had just entered: busy. To their right, was an area for dancing, and to their left, was a bar with two ladies working on it.  
  
The pair made haste towards the counter where the two ladies were serving. They pulled over some stools and sat at the bench, waiting to order their drinks.  
  
One of the barmaids came over to them, a tired look on her face, which gave the impression, she had been working all day.  
  
"Hello and welcome to the Cutlass inn." She said in a dead-pan voice without looking at them. "What can I get you?"  
  
"A toddy of rum for me, and me mate will have...Rags, wha' you wan'?" Pintel turned to look at Ragetti, awaiting his answer.  
  
"Er...er, um. Y-yea, um, er..." Ragetti trailed off, an awed look on his face.  
  
This was the first time Pintel had seen Ragetti lost for words. Pintel decided to order for his friend.  
  
"An' he'll have a toddy of rum as well."  
  
"Right then. Two rums coming right up." With that, the barmaid left them to go and make their drinks.  
  
"Rags?" Pintel shook his hand in front of his mates face. "Rags? Are ya still with me? Mate?"  
  
But Ragetti hadn't even noticed Pintel's hand waving frantically in front of his face. He was to busy watching the barmaid that had just served them.  
  
"Ain't she pretty?"  
  
"Who? The barmaid?" Pintel turned to look at the barmaid who was coming over to them with their drinks.  
  
Pintel studied the woman. She had wavy, long brown hair, a few freckles, a slender body and the most hypnotising pair of eyes he had ever seen. They were bottle-green, and had a mysterious look about them.  
  
"Here you go, lads. That'll be two shillings."  
  
Pintel handed over what little money he had to the barmaid. As she walked off to serve another customer, Pintel turned to speak to the statue-like Ragetti.  
  
"She ain't tha' bad, Rags. But I reckon ya could do betta'."  
  
"Don' insul' her! I fink she's pretty, an' tha's tha'." Ragetti's good eye followed the barmaid, a look of desire on his face.  
  
Finishing what was left of his rum, Pintel stood up and heaved a great sigh.  
  
"We oughta' get goin' Rags. We'll have to sleep in our boa'. I have no money left for a nigh' in an inn."  
  
Ragetti, suddenly looking alarmed, said, "Do we have ta? I mean, it's nice in here an' all..." Ragetti trailed off, looking in the barmaid's direction, who was busy making drinks.  
  
"No, Rags. We are gonna go now, an' if ya don' like it, you can sleep on the street." Pintel had noticed Ragetti's longing gaze at the barmaid, and decided that it would be best to keep Ragetti away from girls like that.  
  
The two of them walked through the streets of Tortuga, making their way back to the boat, when Ragetti muttered to Pintel.  
  
"Pints, can ya teach me ta be like ye infront o'...women?"  
  
"Like wha'?" Pintel asked, a smile spreading across his face.  
  
"Like, ya know, like talkin' to 'em an' stuff."  
  
"Well..."  
  
"Come on! You gotta'! You're really good wif women! Please Pints, please?" Ragetti was desperate for Pintel to say 'yes'. He began to tug on Pintel's sleeve.  
  
Pintel puffed out his chest, and looked at his friends' face.  
  
"Only if ya don' pull on me sleeve no more, ok?" He snapped, pushing Ragetti's grasping hands off his sleeve.  
  
Ragetti's face shone. He was going to learn to talk to women! He'd never been good at it. He remembered his futile attempts to order his drink that night. Pintel had been so calm, so casual. He, Ragetti, had been a 'bubblin' mess', like his dad always used to say.  
  
When they reached their boat, Ragetti couldn't go to sleep. Not just because of all the drunken singing and the playful shooting of guns, but he couldn't get that barmaid's face out of his head. 'Tomorrow, he thought, 'Tomorrow I'll talk to her, an' she'll talk ta me, an' we'll jus'...talk.' He smiled as he rested his down on the hard, cold edge of the boat.  
  
Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day. He was sure of it.  
  
**Authoress:** _So, what do you all think? If you like it, please write a review. If you don't like it, write a review anyway so I know what to fix- up.  
  
And don't worry! The rest of the story is being written right now, by yours truly. See ya' all soon! _


	3. The worst ever pick up line

**Disclaimer:** Same as usual. Gore Verbinski and Ted Elliot are soooo lucky! Keep making more movies, Disney!  
  
**Diamond in the Rough Chapter .:3:.**  
  
It was early dawn when Ragetti awoke from the little sleep he'd had. As he fully woke, he began to remember last nights excitement. Turning to Pintel, he shook him gently.  
  
"Pints, wake up mate! Wake up! Ye promised me them lessons, remember? Oh, Get up, Pints. Get up!"  
  
Pintel slowly woke up, his memory of lasts nights promise stirred in his head. He groaned as he pushed himself up.  
  
"Ye do remember the promise ye gave me, righ'? The promise about' them lessons on girls, righ'?" Ragetti whimpered, staring at the slightly annoyed Pintel.  
  
"O' course I remember it, ya buffoon! Bu' firs' I needs some breakfast. How much money ya got, Rags?"  
  
Ragetti turned out his pockets. A few shillings fell out, along with some string and his little hip-flask.  
  
"Righ' then. Off ta breakfast." Pintel turned to see Ragetti's eager face. "An' then will do them lessons, so stop frettin'!"  
  
As the pair walked into the town square, they were surprised by the fact that everyone else was already awake and was starting the days work. Surely all these people couldn't be those hopeless drunks they saw last night?  
  
Pintel and Ragetti walked into the local bakers, Pintel in the lead, as usual, with Ragetti dawdling behind as he took in the sites of Tortuga by day. It looked a lot more pleasant in the sunshine.  
  
"Good mornin' sir. Can I get you anything on this fine day?" The merry baker inquired.  
  
Pintel looked at all the delicious pastries and sweets. "Jus' two plain rolls, mate."  
  
The baker smiled and gave the two rolls to them. Pintel handed him the last of their money.  
  
"Anything else, sir?"  
  
"Them tarts look nice..." Ragetti muttered, licking his lips. Pintel elbowed him in the ribs.  
  
"Rags, we can' afford it." He whispered. The baker heard Pintel say this, and pitied them greatly.  
  
"Here." The baker handed them two of the tarts Ragetti had been pointing to. "Don't worry, sir. It's on me."  
  
"We don' need no charity!" Pintel stormed out of the bakery, muttering about how people can be so rude.  
  
Ragetti looked longingly at the tarts, and then at Pintel's figure, which was disappearing into the crowd.  
  
"Look, take them anyway. I'm sure your friend would like it all the same, charity or not." The baker handed Ragetti the tarts, which he took gratefully.  
  
"Thanks!" Ragetti yelled out to the baker as he ran, trying to catch up with Pintel.  
  
"Pintel, I got us them tarts! We can have them for later!" Ragetti said breathlessly once he had caught up to Pintel.  
  
"Who does he think he is? Givin' us stuff like we're poor of something'!" Pintel stormed, walking at a rather fast pace.  
  
"Bu' still, we got some tarts. An' the rolls ye bought. Tha's gotta be good." Ragetti replied, handing Pintel his roll.  
  
"Yeah, I suppose." Pintel said as he sat down on a seat out front the butchers.  
  
The pair ate in silence as they watched the townsfolk bustling around them.  
  
When Ragetti finished his roll, he stared at Pintel, awaiting his lesson.  
  
Pintel saw his mate staring at him, so he scoffed his roll down quickly, then turned to face Ragetti.  
  
"So, ya wanna learn abouts how ta talk ta women."  
  
Ragetti nodded profusely, his fake eye swivelling around in its' socket.  
  
"Well the firs' thin' ya gotta learn is ta be manly, like me. Act tough." Pintel puffed his chest out, showing how 'manly' he was.  
  
"Second thin' is tha' ye gotta be smooth, real casual, like ye don' have a care in tha world." Pintel looked up to see Ragetti itching his fake eye again.  
  
"An' thirdly, don' itch ye eye! Ye'll have 'em runnin' away from ye if ye fiddle with the blasted thin'!" Yelled Pintel.  
  
Ragetti stopped itching his eye immediately.  
  
"So be tough, act smooth an' don' itch eye. Righ'. Got it." Ragetti said as he counted the rules off on his fingers.  
  
"Bu' the most important' one of all is ta give 'em compliments. Lots an' lots of compliments. They love it when ya say how pretty they are." Pondered Pintel, seeing if there was anything else Ragetti needed to know.  
  
"Tha's ...four thin's then; tough, smooth, no eye itchin' an' compliments. Lots an' lots of compliments." Ragetti smiled, proud and excited that he would soon be able to approach the barmaid with confidence.  
  
"So, where do ya wanna try out ya knew skills, Rags?" Pintel inquired, watching three ladies walk past.  
  
"I was kinda hopin' ta go back ta the Cutlass Inn an' talk ta the barmaid 'n' all..." He muttered sheepishly, turning red in the process.  
  
Pintel frowned. "Bu' you can do so much betta than a barmaid, Rags. Why not one o' them girls, huh?" Pintel pointed to the three girls who had walked past, who were now chatting to one another in front of the dress shop.  
  
"I like tha' barmaid. She was pretty. Real pretty." Ragetti's good eye glazed over as he thought about that barmaid from last night.  
  
"Well..." Pintel could see the desperation on his friends face. "If ya like the girl tha' much, I suppose we can go back there, yeah."  
  
Ragetti hugged Pintel, only to find himself on the ground, as Pintel had pushed him off.  
  
"Don' do tha', ya fool! Ya makin' us look like a pair o' pansies!"  
  
Later that day, after much practising of 'acting tough' and debating over how to get more money, Pintel decided it best to scrounge for money in the streets. Although Pintel did find six shillings, Ragetti made about ten shillings just by singing a song to the passers-by.  
  
"They only gave ya the money outta pity." Pintel said jealously, watching Ragetti count out his coins. "Yeah, bu' at leas' we have enough ta get us through a few more days, righ'? I mean, pu' it all together an' ye got...sixteen shillin's! Tha' ain' bad, ye know."  
  
"I know tha'!" Pintel blurted out angrily. "I ain' tha' thick!"  
  
After a few moments of silence, Ragetti asked if they could go to the 'Cutlass Inn' .  
  
"Ye can't stop thinkin' 'bout her, can ya?' Pintel said as they got up to start walking to the 'Cutlass Inn'.  
  
"Na. I can't forget her." Ragetti blushed.  
  
When they entered the inn, they found it to be not as busy as last night. Probably because they were a little earlier tonight.  
  
Pintel and Ragetti sat over at the bar, Pintel going over what Ragetti should say.  
  
"Now remember the four rules." Pintel whispered.  
  
"Be tough, be smooth, don't itch eye an'..." Ragetti trailed off, forgetting the fourth rule.  
  
"Give her compliments! Tha's the most important' one o' all!" Pintel whispered hurriedly.  
  
"Look! She's coming over now! You order the drinks, go on!" Pintel sat up, smiling at the barmaid.  
  
"Hello and welcome to the 'Cutlass Inn'." She sounded a lot more cheerier than she had last night. "What can I get you two?" Obviously, she hadn't remembered them. Pintel gave Ragetti an encouraging nudge.  
  
"I'll h-have a ...a t-toddy of rum please. An' me mate will have one t-too. He stuttered, nervous at the sight of her.  
  
"Two rums' comin' right up!" She said, smiling.  
  
Ragetti smiled as he saw her walk off, relieved that he had spoken to her.  
  
"Wha' was with the stutterin'? Ye're a man, not a mouse!" Pintel kicked Ragetti's leg, annoyed that he hadn't acted tough.  
  
"When she comes back, give her a complimen'. Say she looks nice, or somethin'." Pintel whispered to his friend.  
  
"Here you go, boys! That'll be two shillings, please."  
  
Pintel stared at Ragetti, who was temporarily frozen, unable to speak. Pintel thought quickly. It was time to take matters into his own hands.  
  
"There ye are, poppet." Pintel handed her the money, then pointed to Ragetti. "Ye know, my friend here was just sayin' how pretty ye are."  
  
The barmaid looked up, and, with a sarcastic look, put her face right up close to Pintel's and said: "That has got to be the _worst_ pick up line in history."  
  
Ragetti burst into fits of laughter at the now scarlet Pintel.  
  
After telling Ragetti he wouldn't help him with the barmaid unless he stopped laughing (Ragetti stopped abruptly), he turned towards the barmaid, who had come back to them to see if they wanted anything else.  
  
"I wasn't talkin' about me," He said through gritted teeth. "I was serious about' me friend." He pointed once more to Ragetti; glad to see she had taken him seriously this time.  
  
The barmaid took in Ragetti's lanky figure, his dirty blond hair and his sheepish smile. What she found most strange about this man was his eyes, or lack of one. He seemed to have a wooden eyeball, which swivelled grotesquely in its socket.  
  
"Is everything alright over here, Diamond?" The other barmaid had come over now, wanting to see what was holding her friend up.  
  
"Actually, this man here apparently thinks I'm beautiful." The barmaid nodded in Ragetti's direction.  
  
The other barmaid laughed loudly. Ragetti, who was already embarrassed enough as it is, tried his best to change the subject.  
  
"So, is y-your name D-Diamond?"  
  
"And if it was, what would you do with my name?" The barmaid asked him, her face had become serious again.  
  
"Oh give him a break, Diamond!" The other barmaid gave her a nudge on the arm. "Her name is actually Marie, but we call her Diamond-Marie or just Diamond. My name's Julie Hopkins and we run the bar here." Julie's eyes went from Ragetti to Pintel. She gazed oddly at them for a few moments, gave them a smile, then went back to serving drinks, singing a song to herself as she did.  
  
"Julie!" Diamond-Marie answered in a low hiss. "Don't leave me with these two!" Julie gave Diamond-Marie an encouraging wink then went on serving drinks. "Julie!" Diamond-Marie sighed angrily, then turned to see Ragetti staring at her, apparently transfixed. "Look, I'm really flattered, but I'm not interested, ok?"  
  
Ragetti's heart sank. "You...don't like me?" He muttered.  
  
"Well, for a start, I don't even know you, so I can't hate _or_ like you."  
  
"Wha' if you did get ta know me? Would you like me then?"  
  
Diamond-Marie pondered this for a while before answering.  
  
"And how would I get to know you?"  
  
"Y-you could um, maybe we, er..." Ragetti looked to Pintel for help. Pintel pointed to the dance floor, hoping his friend would get the drift. "Maybe we could...d-dance?" He added, feeling a little more confident now he'd asked her.  
  
Diamond-Marie let out a low laugh. "I can't leave the bar unattended."  
  
"It won't be" Julie had come over from the other side of the bar. "You go and have a dance with this guy while I look after the bar. Go on!" She pushed Ragetti and Diamond-Marie together and then went back to serving people on the bar.  
  
"Don' forge' the compliments!" Pintel whispered as Ragetti walked onto the dance floor with Diamond-Marie.  
  
Ragetti's hands were sweating. He couldn't dance. He was going to make a big fool of himself.  
  
"You don't know how to dance, do you?" Diamond-Marie said after a few minutes of dancing.  
  
Ragetti shook his head. He couldn't look at her. This was a nightmare.  
  
"I'll teach you then. You put your hand in my hand," Ragetti put his sweaty palm in hers, surprised at how soft her hands were. "Now I put my hand on your shoulder, and you put your other hand on my hip. Ragetti giggled nervously. He had his hand on her hip, _that's gotta be a start_, he thought.  
  
A few moments of silent dancing went by, when Diamond-Marie spoke up.  
  
"You didn't tell me your name before."  
  
"R-Ragetti. Me friend's name is Pintel." He mumbled. Remembering Pintel's advice, he puffed out his chest to make himself look manly, and then said in his most confident voice: "You look real nice. I like your dress."  
  
"Thanks. Yellow's my favourite colour."  
  
"It's me favourite colour too, Miss Marie!" Ragetti said, pleased that he had something in common with her.  
  
Diamond-Marie smiled. "Please. Call me Diamond." She studied his face when her eyes landed on his wooden eye.  
  
"If you don't mind me asking, how did you lose your eye?"  
  
Ragetti blushed and touched his fake eyeball. "Well, it all started when Pintel and I joined up for the crew of the..." Ragetti never finished his sentence because at that precise moment, a large group of Naval Officers had entered the now full yet silent Inn.  
  
Ragetti squealed and hid behind Diamond, who looked surprised to see Ragetti behind her, cowering like a puppy.  
  
"What's the matter? Their just officers."  
  
Ragetti didn't answer, but the terror on his face showed he didn't want to be there.  
  
Diamond walked over to the eight officers, and asked them if they would like a drink.  
  
"No thanks, love. We're on duty. Say, you haven't seen two pirates around here, have you?" One of the officers inquired, looking around the bar.  
  
"Is that pirate as in '_pirate_' or as in '_pyrite_'?" Julie had come over, intrigued by the conversation.  
  
"Er...Pirate as in Law-breaking pirate." The officer pulled a piece of parchment out from under his coat. He read out loud what was on the paper. "Wanted: Two pirates whom of which are the last remaining plunderers of the infamous ship; 'The Black Pearl'."  
  
Diamond and Julie let out a gasp. They had heard of the 'Black Pearl.' It was said that it was the last real pirate ship in the Spanish main. The Port Royal navy had caught all the crew about a month ago. They were all summoned to be hung in Port Royal.  
  
The Officer went on. "One of the misfits is believed to have a fake eye. Do not come into contact with these men. They are armed and possibly dangerous."  
  
Diamond let out another gasp. The two pirates they were searching for were Ragetti and Pintel! She turned to see the pair hiding behind the bar, a look of terror on each one's face.  
  
Thinking quickly, she turned to Julie and whispered: "Get Ragetti and Pintel upstairs, _now_!"  
  
"You mean the one that likes you and his pal?" Julie whispered back.  
  
"Yes. Go quietly, I'll distract the officers." Diamond turned to the officers; all of them were now drunk.  
  
"So, boys. I can't see any pirates here, so why don't you all just leave?" She pointed to the door, hoping they would go without a fuss.  
  
Another officer (a drunk one) answered her. "Why would we-_hic!-_want to leave this place?-_hic!_"  
  
"Because you're all quite drunk and are disturbing my customers. Now please, make for the door or I will have to force you to leave." Diamond stared at the officers, expecting them to go.  
  
"Oh come on darling! I just -_hic_!- want a bit of fun with -_hic_!- you!" The officer closest to her replied, putting his hand on Diamond's hip.  
  
"Right. That's it!" Diamond came out from behind the bar and decked the officer who touched her. When the other officers stood up (most of whom were laughing at their friend because he had been bashed up by a girl), Diamond kicked the closest one in the groin to show she wasn't kidding.  
  
"GET OUT!" She screamed. The officers were literally thrown out of the bar, each landing on the cold, dirty ground.  
  
Diamond slammed the door to the bar shut and hen threw her apron to a man who was playing cards.  
  
"Joseph, hold down the fort for a while. I need to have a little chat with a so called friend of mine."  
  
"Sure thing Marie. Er...will I be tellin' yer father about tonight's mishaps or will you?" Joseph asked in his strong Irish accent.  
  
"You tell him. I'm not in the mood to argue with him this evening. I'll be upstairs if you need me." Diamond replied as she climbed the stairs.  
  
As Diamond stormed up the rackety wooden staircase, she thought about Ragetti and Pintel. _You just wait boys_, she thought. _You are in big trouble_. 


	4. Trouble, in the shape of two cowards

**Disclaimer:** I really don't see the point of putting another one of these thingies in. You all know who wrote 'Pirates of the Caribbean' anyway.

**Diamond In The Rough .: Chapter 4 :.**

"The Black Pearl, huh?! Escaped criminals, are you?! 'Armed and possibly dangerous?!"

Diamond had stormed into one of the small rooms of 'The Cutlass inn', yelling at the top of her voice to a cowering Ragetti and Pintel.

"Keep your voice down, Diamond! Do you want all of our customers to hear?" Julie whispered in a low hiss.

Ragetti and Pintel sat on the end of the bed while Julie stood leaning against the wall. Diamond pulled up a chair and faced the two felons.

"Ok. Here's how we're gonna do this. I ask a question, you answer it. And with the truth. Understood?"

The silenced pair nodded their heads in agreement, both too scared to look Diamond in the face.

"First question. Are you or are you not the last crew members of the Black Pearl?"

Once again, the only reply was a nod.

"How did you escape?" This time, the question came from Julie.

Ragetti and Pintel turned to face her, both explaining how they escaped.

"Well, we were taken' back on the Daun'less -"

"And w-we untied ourselves with me lucky dagger-"

"And ran for the lifeboats-"

"ENOUGH!" Diamond screamed. "I don't want to hear about it!"

"Bu' it's a beaut story…"

"I don't care! Our main dilemma now is what to do with you two." Diamond gave each of them a menacing stare.

"We could always call those officers back. I mean, we don't owe these two anything." Julie said, trying to work Pintel and Ragetti up.

"Oh please! Don' do tha'! I promise me an' Pints will be good!" Ragetti and Pintel both got on their knees, begging for life.

"Rags an' I can help ye with stuff around 'ere. And besides, ye don' wan' to carry the burden of sendin' two innocent men to their death, do ya now?"

"Innocent?! You've killed, and tormented, and plundered your way through life. You call that innocent?!"

"Diamond-" It was Julie.

"What?" Diamond snapped, not taking her eyes off the men cowering before her.

"Perhaps we should let them stay."

Ragetti and Pintel stopped whinging abruptly and stared up at Julie as if she were a saint.

"Why? We don't owe them anything, like you said."

"But that's beside the point. And anyway, we do need some new kitchen hands - our last one quit, remember?"

Diamond looked down at the two whimpering scally-wags. Both of them wearing the same face of fear and guiltiness.

"We promise ta work real hard an' all." Pintel added, hoping to persuade Diamond into letting them stay.

"You know what? Fine. See if I care. You begin work tomorrow. You can sleep in here. But don't make any noise because if my father finds out who you are, it'll be back to Port Royal with you."

Diamond opened the door and was about to walk out of the room, when Ragetti piped up.

"Thankye, Diamond."

"It's Miss Marie." Diamond growled slowly, glaring at Ragetti. She then slammed the door and went back down stairs to close up the bar.

Ragetti's heart sank. "She hates me." He muttered.

"Believe me," Julie said, walking over to the door, "If she hated you, she wouldn't have let you stay." Julie put her face right up to Ragetti's and added; "Think about that. Goodnight." Julie walked out of the room and shut the door behind her, leaving Ragetti and Pintel in complete darkness.

"Up. Up!"

"Wha'….?" Pintel said groggily, only just awakening from the most comfortable nights sleep he'd had in a while.

"It's 5am already. Time to start your first day of work." Julie answered, pulling back the curtains to reveal a view of the bay.

"W-we have ta start each day at five o'clock?!" Ragetti groaned.

"No, you normally start at 6am, but Julie and I decided that if you to were going to work here in exchange for us not turning you in, then you should at least be clean, or just look it." Diamond added, throwing each one a towel and pointing down the other end of the corridor.

"You'll find a bath down that end of the hallway. You only have an hour, so I suggest you hurry up." Diamond was still annoyed about last night.

The four of them made their way to the bathroom. Julie ushered the pirates behind a screen and told them to strip off.

"I ain' doin' no such thing!" Pintel bellowed.

"Fine. But you'll have to take a bath with your clothes on." Diamond scowled.

"And I'm guessing that would be _very_ uncomfortable." Julie added, smirking as Pintel and Ragetti hid behind the screen, stripping off their clothes while Julie and Diamond filled up the bath with warm, soapy water.

"Throw us your clothes and we'll go wash them." Diamond said as a pile of Ragetti's and Pintel's clothes came over the screen.

"Report down to the kitchens when your done. It's behind the bar."

"How can we go down their withou' our clothes, eh?" Pintel growled, embarrassed about the situation he was in.

"There are two old dressing gowns next to the bath. Just put those on and then you can get changed downstairs." Diamond and Julie left the pair of embarrassed pirates to clean themselves up.

"Errgh! How bad do their clothes smell?!"

Julie asked as they walked down the stairs carrying Pintel and Ragetti's clothes.

"I know." Diamond replied, "It looks like they haven't been properly cleaned in ages."

"Who? The boys or their clothes?" Julie joked.

"Both. At least once their scrubbed up we'll have time to relax."

"Mmmm. We have been doing a lot of work lately." Julie agreed.

Diamond and Julie have been working so hard to keep this place up and running. Between Diamonds' father being sick all last month and the cleaning-maid quitting, the pair of them haven't had much time to themselves.

* * *

_**Authoress's note:** Ok, I know that really isn't a good place to stop the story for now, but I couldn't wait to get it on fan fiction, so you'll just have to wait for me to start writing the next chapter; 'When the work begins'._


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